Is Craigslist’s Adult Censor Pointless?

Anti-prostitution activists celebrated Craigslist's decision last week to block its "adult services" listings, but the debate on online sex ads is just beginning. Craigslist censored the category on the premise that it facilitated prostitution, yet soon enough sex workers began posting ads on other parts of the site, namely the "Casual Encounters" category of the personals section. "There is not a single magic bullet," said Richard Blumenthal, Connecticut's attorney general who spearheaded the movement to shut down the section. "We will continue to pursue this issue with Craigslist if the problem persists.” Craigslist executive Jim Buckmaster contends that decentralizing sex ads would require more rigorous review policies—policies that might force Craigslist to charge users. According to Buckmaster, the primary challenge is developing an effective filtering system. "There are lots of legitimate service providers" for adults, he insisted, citing phone-sex lines as an example. "If users are looking to place legal service ads, it seems they should be able to place them, and place them in a separate category where they can be well managed."